In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 730,722, filed May 6, 1985, and assigned to a common assignee, a box-like article is disclosed in which the box or slipcase is formed from a paperboard blank and a backing material in a number of sequential folding and gluing steps. The present invention features a machine whereby the blank described in the aforementioned application is automatically formed into a slipcase in the same sequence of operations. For the sake of brevity, the disclosure of the above-mentioned application is incorporated herein by way of reference. Generally, a slipcase is rectangular in shape having an opening on one side thereof, and is formed from a paperboard frame covered over by a backing or finishing material, such as cloth. The cloth is coated with a heat-sensitive adhesive which allows the backing material to be adhered to the paperboard by the application of heat using a heating element. Alternatively, the backing material has wet glue and is bonded to the paperboard by the application of pressure without heat. The slipcase is adapted to receive or have slipped into it books and the like.
In prior art methods, there have been problems of slipcases formed with misaligned printing thereon, and such slipcases are unacceptable in use. In such methods, the backing material is printed on before it is adhered to the paperboard blank. The blank and backing are then folded and glued to form the slipcase. In many cases, if the backing material is not adhered to the paperboard blank at exactly the right angle, then the printed matter is misaligned on the resulting slipcase. This problem is accentuated by the fact that when a book with printed matter thereon is placed in the slipcase, the printed matter on the spine of the book is not in alignment with the printed matter on the slipcase.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that it eliminates such problems, since it allows the backing material to be printed on after it is adhered to the paperboard blank, and this avoids the printing misalignment problems discussed above. As explained herein, the use of a heat-sensitive adhesive on the backing material for assembling the slipcase, as compared to wet glue, does not interfere with the printing operation being performed after the backing is adhered to the paperboard blank.